The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) is a

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

n government department responsible for regulating and advancing agricultural and food industries, fisheries and regional development within the state. It was formed by an amalgamation of the Department of Agriculture and Food, Department of Fisheries and Department of Regional Development in 2017. The Minister for Agriculture and Food, the Minister for Regional Development and the Minister for Fisheries are responsible for the department. In 2004 the department had operating costs of $215,000,000 approx with $120,000,000 provided directly by the state government. The balance was from federal government grants, public operating activities and user charges and fees. This department was also responsible for

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

control on all plants, soil and animal products brought into the state. The Agricultural Protection Board eeds updatingis also part of this and responsible for the eradication of pests in Western Australia; including the rainbow lorikeet ('' Trichoglossus moluccanus''), skeleton weed (''

Chondrilla juncea ''Chondrilla juncea'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by a number of common names, including rush skeletonweed, gum succory, devil's grass, and nakedweed. The plant is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, but ...

''), and Portuguese millipede ('' Ommatoiulus moreletii'').

History

In 1894,

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

John Forrest Sir John Forrest (22 August 1847 – 2 SeptemberSome sources give the date as 3 September 1918 1918) was an Australian explorer and politician. He was the first premier of Western Australia (1890–1901) and a long-serving cabinet minister i ...

, established the Bureau of Agriculture under the chairmanship of Charles Harper. The members were A.R. Richardson, W. Paterson (the first manager of the Agricultural Bank), J.H.D. Amherst, F.H. Piesse and G.L. Throssell. Initially, the bureau was not placed under the supervision of a minister. This changed in April 1898 when the bureau became the Agricultural Advisory Board and a new Department of Agriculture was gazetted under the control of Throssell as Commissioner for Crown Lands. Professor William Lowrie was appointed director in 1908. He resigned in 1911.

Sir James Mitchell Sir James Mitchell, (27 April 1866 – 26 July 1951) was an Australian politician. He served as premier of Western Australia from 1919 to 1924 and from 1930 to 1933, as leader of the Nationalist Party. He then held viceregal office from 1933 ...

was at this time Minister for Agriculture and he expanded the senior position to three commissioners: George Lowe Sutton, as Commissioner for the Wheat Belt, James M.B. Connor as Commissioner for the South-West; and James P. Moody as Commissioner for the Fruit Industries.

Names

* ''Western Australian Bureau of Agriculture'' 1894 - 1898 * ''Department of Agriculture'' 1898 - 2006 * ''Department of Agriculture and Food (Western Australia)'' 2006 - 2017 * ''Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development'' 2017

Research stations

The department operates the following research stations throughout Western Australia: Newdegate agri station

* Avondale Agricultural Research Station *Badgingarra Research Station *Esperance Downs Research Station *Gascoyne Research Station - Carnarvon *Katanning Research Station *Kununurra: Frank Wise Research Institute *Manjimup Research Station *Medina Research Station *Merredin Research Station *Mount Barker Research Station * Newdegate Research Station *Vasse Research Station *Wongan Hills Research Station

References

External links

* {{Authority control

Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

Agriculture in Western Australia

Primary industry departments in Australia

History

Names

Research stations

See also

References

Further reading

External links